1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure pertains in general to the field of oral, dental or maxillofacial restorative medical procedures, and products related thereto. More particularly the present disclosure relates to devices and methods for facilitating determination of a position and orientation of components, like implants, involved in such procedures.
2. Description of the Related Art
A common fitting, also referred to as an abutment position locator, includes a friction fit connection. FIG. 4 shows an example of such a common fitting 100. The fitting 100 comprises an insertion portion 102 at a distal end of the fitting 100. This portion 102 has several springs 104 projecting in the insertion direction. These springs 104 are expandable perpendicularly to the insertion axis of the fitting 100, for impeding a movement of the fitting 100 relative to the dental implant along the insertion axis when inserted into the dental implant.
In order to achieve this, the dental implant is configured such that the springs 104 are expanded radially inwardly towards the central insertion axis of the fitting 100 upon insertion of the fitting 100 into the implant and, hence, frictionally engage the dental implant due to their constant pressure exerted on the implant. In some embodiments of the prior art, the dental implant comprises a groove or recesses into which projections on the springs 104 can engage in order to increase the impeding force against a movement of the fitting relative to the dental implant.
Further, the springs 104 are arranged in a manner such that the fitting 100 only fits into the dental implant in a certain alignment so that the springs 104, at the same time, form an alignment feature for rotationally aligning the fitting relative to the dental implant about the insertion axis. In other words, the fitting 100 cannot be inserted into the dental implant in a misaligned rotational position relative to the dental implant so that the arrangement of the springs 104 ensures a correct alignment of the fitting in the dental implant.
US 2009/0130629 A1, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses a two-piece dental abutment system having similar springs projecting distally to be inserted into a dental implant. EP 1 419 746 A2, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, similarly discloses a dental implant system in which a separate abutment is not provided but the dental prosthesis itself is provided with respective fitting features such as resilient spring members and an alignment feature.
A problem with the prior art constructions disclosed above is that the fitting features lose their functionality if inserted in a misaligned position relative to the dental implant. With the prior art constructions, it easily happens that one or several of the springs 104 are plastically deformed upon insertion into the dental implant and the friction force to be provided by the springs is severely decreased or lost completely. As a consequence, the fitting does not work properly, if it was not inserted in the correct way.
Various optical scanning methods are known in the art, such as the method and apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,590,654, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.